Editorial: NHL’s return brings mixed emotions

Shortened season translates into a loss of $20 million for Vancouver businesses

Vancouver hockey fans couldn't get enough of their National Hockey League team last April when the Canucks faced the eventual Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings in the first round of the playoffs at Rogers Arena. What will the reaction be Saturday when their hockey heroes return to the ice for a regular-season NHL game?

Photograph by: Steve Bosch, PNG Files
, Vancouver Sun

As every sports fan knows, sports are as much about emotion as they are about anything else. But sometimes cold, hard, unemotional numbers tell us the real story, especially when that story is as emotional as the recently resolved NHL lockout.

The lockout was the third in the last two decades, with 119 days passing between the expiry of the previous collective bargaining agreement and the ratification of the new one. Among other things, the new agreement calls for a salary floor of $44 million US and a cap of $60 million US.

As a result of the lockout, each team will play just 48 games, 34 fewer than the normal 82, for a reduction of 41.5 per cent. That’s the same number of games played in the lockout shortened 1994-95 season, though it’s 48 games more than the 2004-05 season, which was eliminated entirely.

The fact that this season was not eliminated ought to come as a relief to the diehard hockey fan. Or not: According to an online survey of 608 B.C. adults conducted by Insights West, the lockout has stirred many emotions among Vancouver Canucks’ fans, and most of those emotions are strongly negative.

For example, the number of respondents who called themselves “regular,” “huge” or “fanatical” dropped from 60 per cent pre-lockout to just 33 per cent now.

And while only 14 per cent of respondents described themselves as “not much of a fan” or “not a fan at all” pre-lockout, fully 40 per cent describe themselves as such now.

That lack of interest might well affect TV ratings and numbers at the box office, as nearly half (48 per cent) of respondents said they are planning to watch games less often, while 64 per cent said they will attend fewer games. A total of 44 per cent said they will purchase NHL merchandise less often, while 17 per cent intended to donate less to NHL-related charities.

Now, time — and a strong performance by one’s favourite team — can do wonders to change such negative emotions. But fully 57 per cent of respondents believe they will continue to harbour resentment toward the NHL three months down the road.

That’s something the NHL and the Canucks hope to avoid. In an effort to appease angry fans, the Canucks are planning a number of measures, including allowing a season-ticket holder to drop the puck for a ceremonial pre-game faceoff before the Canucks’ season opener, a 50-per-cent-off sale on all merchandise at the Canucks Team Store and a special $1 sale on certain concession goodies.

Although a lot of fans have balked at such measures, there is one very good reason not to hold a grudge for too long. For fans aren’t the ones who were harmed the most by the lockout; rather, the Vancouver Downtown Business Improvement Association estimates that a Canucks home game brings $1 million to Vancouver. This means, of course, that some $20 million will be lost this year.

Hotels and restaurants suffer much of those losses, as they play host to visitors attending games as well as locals watching on the big screen. So while fan anger is understandable, it’s worth remembering — and patronizing — the people who have really suffered the most from the lockout. And it’s worth remembering that, one day, our once beloved Canucks will become beloved again.

Vancouver hockey fans couldn't get enough of their National Hockey League team last April when the Canucks faced the eventual Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings in the first round of the playoffs at Rogers Arena. What will the reaction be Saturday when their hockey heroes return to the ice for a regular-season NHL game?

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